FORT EL RENO, OKLAHOMA

There was a huge difference in touring Ft. El Reno over touring Ft. Supply.  First of all my friend, Wendy Ogden is the curator of the Calvary section so it was great fun to see how cute little Wendy had grown up to be such a beautiful woman and to see her children.

Maybe I am partial, but I love the way Wendy has handled putting the building together. Each painting is not only labeled with who painted it and the name of the painting, but exactly what had lead up to the event that the painting was about and also, sometimes, what happened after that.  

I really appreciate little extras like that. While my husband and I are both history buffs there is no way we can know all things about all segments of US history.  So having that bit of historical information added next to each painting made studying the works of art even more understandable and enjoyable.

If it had to do with the Calvary there was something to represent it in the museum. From horses in  saddles to furnished living quarters, to uniforms, to weapons. From the beginning through the air raid sirens of our modern wars.

Oh and let’s not forget the camel saddles, yes camels.  Many people are not aware that our calvary used camels here in the US at one time.  We knew about it, because we had actually already been to the grave site of the main camel herder for the cavalry near Quartzite, AZ and learned about his history by reading up on him after viewing his unusual grave monument.

The entire building was comfortable even in the extreme heat outdoors.

After visiting the Calvary Museum we wandered the grounds snapping photos of

The adjuncts office

Calvary barracks

Commisary

Guard house

And, at Wendy’s suggestion we took a drive up to the cemetery on the hill.  In the cemetery there were definite sections, including the section that had seemed to be for the Germans only.

As with any adventure in this part of the US I came across a family name. Charles Howard, he was a civilian employee of the quarter master, but I am not certain this is our Charles Howard, but the date is close to the time he disappeared from the public records I have researched so far. 

On our trip back to Edmond we traveled old Route 66, many of the once famous sites are now gone, of course but the drive in theater is still there.  It’s out of business, but it is an eye catcher for certain.

As time goes on we hope to travel more and more of Route 66 in and away from OK